Watch out, wearable computers could be the next big thing

June 25, 2014 - Art Smith

The original piece of wearable technology is about to get a major upgrade. With the rumor of the release of the iWatch this fall, wearing a timepiece on your arm is about to get cool again.

People have worn the watch for centuries. First it just told the time, later it also told the date. In the 1970s electronic watches came out, some even served as calculators - complete with tiny buttons.

With the advent of the smart phone though, many people quit wearing watches because they were looking at their phones constantly and the phones have built in clocks.

A new round of watches might just change that. The Apple iWatch, rumored to be released in October, is certain to grab a large share of this "new" market.

The iWatch, and other forms of smart watches are expected to give people much more data than just the time and date. Since a person wears it on their arm, they will be able to collect a lot of analytical information about the user. Their use is expected to be huge with athletes, but should also be useful for people just trying to stay healthy.

The watches are expected to be loaded with sensors that can measure things like heart rate, blood pressure, sleep patterns and more, and log them into a new IOS app called Health.

If it's like other Apple devices it will seamlessly sync with apps and websites to give you useful data about your life that you and your health care providers can use to keep you healthy.

A few years ago tablets entered the market and were snatched up by hundreds of millions of consumers.

The smart watch will likely do the same, particularly if consumers perceive it as something that can help them live longer.

As a provider of digital content it will be interesting to see how the tiny devices will handle information. You can already read the newspaper in print, on your computer, on your tablet and on your smart phone. Will we be able to add "on your wrist" to that list? Stay tuned. Perhaps we will have to change All Access to Arm Access.